Ants
Key Features of Ants
The commonest species that invades UK houses is the Black Garden Ant, which is actually very dark brown. The worker ants, which are likely to enter properties when foraging for food, are 3 to 5mm in length.
All ants have the main divisions of the body (head, thorax and abdomen) distinctly separated by very narrow waists. They also have a sharp elbow joint in their antennae.
Biology of Ants
Ants are highly organised social insects, with each nest being centred around one reproductive female, the queen, and her sterile daughters, the workers. It is the foraging workers that invade buildings in search of sweet foodstuffs, which they take back to the nest to feed the larvae and queen.
"Flying ants" are the reproductive males and females – the potential queens. They have a nuptial swarming flight during a few days in July and August, typically just after stormy weather. The males die shortly after mating and the females seek out nesting sites to build new colonies in the following spring.
Distribution of Ants
Black Ants are common throughout Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America.
Significance of Ants
Black Ants usually nest in soil but can also be found living under paving stones and concrete. They can become real nuisance pests because during foraging, the workers may enter domestic, commercial and industrial premises – particularly food preparation areas – in search of sweet foodstuffs.
The mating swarms can also cause a short-term nuisance, although this lasts only a few days.
Control of Ants
Following the trail of workers and scouts back to the nest is the best way to establish the source of the infestation. From here there is a variety of ways to control and remove the infestation:
- Restricting access to the nest
- Gel baits, which the workers carry back to the nest to feed the queen. These sweet gels are actually poisonous to the ants.
- Strategically placed insecticide barriers to prevent the ants from entering the property.
Good hygiene is also vital to avoid attracting the ants back to food sources.
If you have a problem with ants, Verminate can help you! Contact us today for more information.
